If you were to stop by you would see a very busy class of second grade students. We begin our day with a morning review exercises of Literacy Skills or Math followed by a community greeting and review of the day's schedule and messages.
In Literacy, our first unit is personnal narratives. We open with a Reading Workshop where the focus is to develop a deeper understanding and comprehension of the of stories we read. Visualization, use of background knowledge, inference and questioning are a few strategies to develop this higher level thinking. Small moments and family stories are a few "seed" ideas that develop into drafts and eventually published writing. We supplement the DPS Literacy Guide with the "6+1Traits". Attention is given to 1. Ideas, 2. Organization, 3. Planning, 4. Word Choice, 5.Voice, 6 Conventions and finally the +1 is Presentation.
Mid year we begin the non-fiction genre in both reading and writing. Students will contrast and compare books. They learn to notice differences by such features as Table of Contents, Diagrams, Subheadings, etc... In writing each child works on completing various "All About" books. They research and publish books based on their own interests and expertise.
Finally, wWe end the year with Poetry.
The Everyday Math program is a fun way to explore many new concepts and strategies. Emphasis is placed on knowing math by using various games and activities as well as practice in their journals. Each week, Everyday Math Home Links are sent home for review and reinforcement of the most recent lessons.
Social Studies begins the year with the Culture and Civic Unit. DPS Standard 4- understanding how citizens exercise the roles, rights and responsibilities of participation in civic life is a nice way to launch our rituals and routines. . Second trimester we will focus on Economics, DPS Standard 1 – understanding that because of the condition of scarcity, decisions must be made about the use of scarce resources. Finally in the third trimester we will study Geography, DPS Standard 1 – know how to use and construct maps, globes and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places and environments. Standard 6 will also be addressed – Apply knowledge of people places and environments to understand the past and present and to plan for the future.
Second grade Science focus is Earth Materials, Sound Waves and Plant Life. New books and materials make it easy to study and get actively involved in hands on experiments.
So much to cover in a year, but we always make it. By Spring time we are feeling ready for third grade.
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